


Sparks and Smoke

by Morpheus626



Category: The Pacific (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25056958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morpheus626/pseuds/Morpheus626
Summary: For the prompt: Repair.Here was my summary when I first posted it to Tumblr, about a year ago to the date nearly: Just kinda took the word of this prompt and let it flow. Not overly long, just a snippet of thing. But a fitting one, since literally all my fuckin neighbors are shooting off fireworks rn.And guess what! Here in 2020, finally posting it to AO3 on July 3rd, once again my fuckin neighbors are shooting off fireworks despite a fire warning. Odd, the passage of time, and how some things always stay the same.
Relationships: Merriell "Snafu" Shelton/Eugene Sledge
Kudos: 3





	Sparks and Smoke

He stared at the pipe in his hands. Or more accurately, the two pieces of pipe in his hand. 

It was only his extra, but he didn’t have his usual pipe with, not wanting to risk losing it in the Fourth of July celebration crowds at the local park. It had been risky, going out to join in, knowing that even before the main fireworks display it would be loud, crowded, and suffocating. Kids roamed with sparklers and bang snaps, and it was a task not to flinch as they screamed and ran about the crowd.

“Hey, what happened?” Snafu had a mouthful of some sort of fried, sugar-covered dough, with another in a piece of wax paper in his hand. 

“Got bumped into hard. Shouldn’t have had it in my pants pocket, but where else could I put it?” Eugene sighed. “So much for smoking through the fireworks.” 

Snafu peered curiously at the pieces. “I mean, I can probably fix it.” 

“Here?” 

Snafu shrugged, and led him over to one of the few empty park benches. “This bit just supposed to go back to connect the mouthpiece to the bowl, right?” 

“Yeah, but look at it. It won’t just fit back in, all cracked like that. It’ll be fine, I’ll just have to get through it and…” 

Before he could finish his sentence, Snafu had carefully set the extra snack in his lap and dashed off towards the hobby store across the street. 

“They close in like, two minutes, Merriell,” Eugene scoffed, though he knew Snafu couldn’t hear him, and even if he could have, he wouldn’t have listened. 

A few minutes later he was back, out of breath, with a small paper bag full of stuff. “Okay, so, Tim doesn’t know how to repair a pipe. Smokes cigarettes himself, bad brand though, and I did make sure to tell him so, I mean really smoking-” 

“Snaf,” Eugene interrupted gently. “If he had no clue how to fix it, then what the hell have you got there?” 

Snafu looked down to the bag, as if he’d forgotten he was holding it. “Right. Well, he thought maybe glue, but I wanna look ‘em over to make sure they can withstand heat first. Also had a few repair kits for little things, eyeglasses, model planes and cars. No guarantees, but I can try it. I mean that, or-” 

Eugene interrupted him with a kiss this time. “If you wanna give it a try, then I say go for it. It’s just sweet of you to try at all, honestly. Far as I can tell it’s a lost cause. Not like it’s my good one, at least.” 

Snafu was already deep into the process, the broken pipe pieces on his lap and the various kits and bottles laid between them on the bench as he hemmed and hawed over the options, grabbing tiny tools then setting them down as they failed to work. 

“I’ve got an idea. Stay put, okay?” Snafu sighed, handing Eugene back the pipe pieces. “Also, you should eat that. Shit’s amazin’. Be right back!” 

“Now hold on, we could just go home, we could, hey!” Eugene called after Snafu, but he was off like a shot, jogging…who only knew where. 

So he sat, cleaned up the kits and bottles, and ate (whatever the fried dough thing was, it was delicious) and waited as the sun started to set. The crowds began to gather near the center of the park, a bit away from his bench, and he winced at the thought of the fireworks without his pipe and without Snafu by him. 

Ragged breathing announced Snafu’s return, as he flopped onto the bench and handed Eugene a pipe, clean with a shining walnut finish. 

“Where did you…” 

“Smoke shop owner…Jim…is running the food stand tonight. Convinced him…to let me buy it…opened up just for me,” Snafu grinned as he sighed and leaned back against the bench. 

“You went and bought a new one? Snaf…” He could feel himself blushing as he looked the pipe over. It was nice, too nice. “You didn’t have to-” 

“No, no,” Snafu interrupted. “We said we wanted to get through the fireworks, see how we do with ‘em. But I need you by me for that, and you need your pipe. So, here we are.” 

Eugene readied and lit it as Snafu leaned against him. 

“I do good? Pipes aren’t my thing, so…” Snafu said, and Eugene could feel his eyes lingering on him. 

“Very good. Ready to get through this?” 

“Yeah,” Snafu replied, warm against him as the fireworks started. 

It wasn’t pleasant. Not like it seemed to be for everyone else. But they were able to sit through it, the smoke from Eugene’s pipe twisting in the air around them as they watched the colors light up the sky, trying and failing not to jump with each new explosion. 

Snafu’s hand was warm in his as he drove them home, the windows rolled down to let in the crisp night air. “Well…we did it.” 

Snafu nodded. “We did. That said…next year.” 

“Absolutely not, we are stayin’ home,” Eugene replied. His muscles ached from how tense he was after the fireworks display. 

“Oh thank fuckin’ god. That was…eugh,” Snafu continued. “I’m so ready to go home.” 

“Me too,” Eugene sighed. Once they finally relaxed, he figured it would be the best night’s sleep they’d gotten in awhile.


End file.
